The Enemy
by Scarlet Silverweaver
Summary: Life and Death. Ice and Fire. Realist and Idealist. Polar opposites. Why did Sylvia choose Malistaire, of all people, when she knew they were both doomed from the start?


A/N: This story takes place after Sylvia died when she is in her tomb in Dragonspyre's Necropolis.

Yep, I'm writing Malistaire/Sylvia angst. Again.

P.S. I don't own the words in bold, nor do I own any characters you recognize. The bolded words are the lyrics to "The Enemy" by Mumford and Sons, and the characters belong to Kingsisle Inc.

* * *

**Give me hope in silence  
It's easier, it's kinder**

Sylvia, despite being a Theurgist, was not an optimist by any means, but she understood the concept of hope. She found it comforting in hard times, the thought something good would happen soon. She also found it destructive when hope was crushed.

In her eyes, it was much easier to let someone bask in the hope brought by ignorance. It was seemingly kinder to leave them in the dark.

**And tell me not of heartbreak  
It plagues my soul  
It plagues my soul**

She knew what it felt like herself, getting your hopes crushed by reality, shattered by things you saw. It plagued her soul, but not her heart. In truth, she didn't have a heart anymore.

It was rotting somewhere in the tomb her ghost was confined to.

**We will meet back on this road  
Nothing gained, truth be told**

Trying to forget didn't gain her anything, nor did seeing him every week outside her tomb. Truth be told, it was nothing short of torture to see him visit the Necropolis, looking more broken with each visit.

And Sylvia was quickly learning that her slow, lingering death was bliss compared to the look on his face.

**But I'm not the enemy  
It isn't me, the enemy **

It was hard to remember, sometimes, what he was. She didn't know everything about what he'd done, but she knew enough to tell that he wasn't the same man he was before her death. She could tell he tried to hide it from her, knowing all about ghosts.

He wasn't her enemy, and she knew it, no matter how much better it would be for everyone if he was.

**But I came and I was nothing  
Time will give us nothing**

Sylvia wanted to come down to the ground and slap him to his senses, but she couldn't. After all, she was nothing but a leftover imprint of the woman lying in the vault in the middle of the room.

Waiting and hoping gave her nothing. Time gave her nothing  
**  
So why did you choose to lean on  
A man you knew was falling?**

  
Sylvia, from the moment she met him, knew he would be nothing on his own. He was just that kind of guy, he needed someone else around to live.

Left by himself, he was lost. Left by himself, he fell. And Sylvia knew it.  
**  
Give me hope in silence  
It's easier, it's kinder  
And tell me not of heartbreak  
It plagues my soul  
It plagues my soul**

False hope was the worst kind, but also the easiest to gain. Occasionally, Sylvia wished he didn't tell her anything or even visit her. Then she simply wouldn't know what was happening to him. It would be torture, but it would be a lot easier than the last week of her life.

If she could, she would take everything back. She didn't want to be a ghost anymore.****

And bury me beside you  
I have no hope in solitude

She vaguely remembered a story from her days at the library, just flipping through books from every section. It was the story of the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. She had scoffed at the story then, wondering why anyone would do such a stupid thing as sacrifice themself for someone they were supposed to hate. It was all so easy to make fun of from the outside. And then she saw Malistaire's face as he looked up at her tomb, and she understood.

"Tempt not a desperate man."  
**  
And the world will follow  
To the earth down below**

In time, Sylvia learned his plan to bring her back. She was horrified. These were the acts of a desperate man. He planned to awake the Dragon Titan, command the titan to bring Sylvia back, and rule the Spiral with her by his side.

As every spirit school child knew, that could destroy the entire Spiral. Not to mention rip the fabric of space/time.****

But I came and I was nothing  
Time will give us nothing

Time did bring something after all; it brought his death and the end to his desperate and reckless plan. Deep down, Sylvia thought he _wanted_ to be stopped. He _wanted_ to be defeated.

His plans always were a little convoluted.  
**  
So why did you choose to lean on  
A man you knew was falling?**


End file.
